Development and modernization of the Tor-M2 air defense system
SAM "Tor-M2", involved in the Special Operation, February 2023
Over the past few decades, the short-range anti-aircraft missile system "Tor" has been in service with our army. During operation and production, it has been repeatedly upgraded, incl. with the creation of completely new modifications. As reported, the upgrade process does not stop, and right now work is underway on the next upgrade of the current version of the Tor-M2 complex.
New goals
The last representative of the Tor family, adopted by the military air defense of the Russian army, is the 9K332 Tor-M2 air defense system. Through the introduction of a number of new components, incl. modern guided missile, it has significant advantages over other complexes of the line. At the same time, the development of the SAM line does not stop, and the necessary work is being carried out.
Recent ones news The modernization of the Tor-M2 air defense system was received on March 15 from the TASS agency. Fanil Ziyatdinov, General Director of the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant (IEMZ) Kupol, told him about the work. The head of the manufacturing organization noted that work on the modernization of the Tor-M2 complex continues and does not stop. During this process, the air defense system gets the opportunity to hit new types of air targets, incl. just appearing.
Specialists of IEMZ "Kupol" assess the potential of the complex, as well as perform mathematical modeling of its combat work for various purposes, incl. promising. When appropriate opportunities arise, the calculations are checked in practice, after which the actual results are evaluated.
F. Ziyatdinov also outlined the main ways of development of "Tora-M2" and the goals of this process. According to him, the applied technical solutions can significantly improve the characteristics of air defense systems in the context of detecting small targets. In addition, the degree of automation continues to increase. All major processes will be performed with little or no operator involvement. A person will only have to give a start command, and the complex will do the rest.
When such results will be obtained, and how soon the updated equipment with improved characteristics will go to the troops, the general director of the Dome did not specify. It can be expected that the enterprise is doing everything possible to complete the work as soon as possible and quickly update the air defense systems in the troops.
The modern complex
The Tor-M2 product, like its predecessors, is a short-range self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system. This air defense system is intended for military air defense, which determines the range of tasks to be solved. "Tors" must accompany the troops and protect them from air attacks on the march, in positions or in places of deployment.
The main element of the 9K332 Tor-M2 air defense system is the 9A331M2 combat vehicle. It is an autonomous combat vehicle and can solve all tasks independently; it is possible to be included in units of different composition using other air defense systems. The machine is built on a tracked chassis with high mobility and cross-country characteristics, due to which it is able to accompany any military equipment.
The combat vehicle carries a tower module with the necessary equipment. It has its own radar station for detecting targets, equipment for determining nationality, as well as a radar and an optoelectronic guidance station. Without using external target designation, Tor-M2 controls the air situation within a radius of 32 km.
Especially for the latest modification of the "Torah" was developed ZUR 3M338K. The missiles are supplied in transport and launch containers with several cells for vertical launch. The combat module of the 9A331M2 vehicle holds 16 missiles. Reloading is carried out using a crane installation on a transport-loading machine.
The 3M338K missile is equipped with a radio command guidance system; The guidance radar has four control channels. With the help of a solid-propellant engine, ZUR develops a speed of up to 1000 m / s. The launch range reaches 12 km, the height of the defeat is 10 km. The missile is capable of maneuvering with a longitudinal overload of up to 30 units, which ensures hitting a target with an overload of up to 10-12.
The combat crew of the air defense system consists of three people. The driver controls the chassis, and the operator and commander are responsible for the use of anti-aircraft weapons. The transfer of the complex from the traveling position to the combat position is carried out by calculation; it takes no more than 3 minutes.
Circle of tasks
SAM 9K332 "Tor-M2" is intended to combat a wide range of air attack weapons that threaten the ground forces. He must detect and hit tactical aircraft aviation, attack and transport-combat helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles of various classes, as well as various samples of high-precision weapons air and other bases.
During tests and numerous exercises, Torah-M2 and their crews have repeatedly demonstrated effective combat against all intended targets. Since 2015, such air defense systems have been participating in the defense of the Russian Khmeimim airbase in Syria. They have repeatedly had to intercept aerial targets in the form of commercial or homemade UAVs with combat payloads. Larger targets, such as full-fledged aircraft, are virtually non-existent in this theater.
Since February 2022, a large number of Tor-M2 air defense systems have been participating in the Special Operation to protect Donbass. This time, the complexes solve more complex problems and work with a wider range of purposes. The enemy still retains combat aircraft and guided weapons for it. In addition, Ukrainian formations widely use a variety of Drones and rocket artillery, incl. modern foreign samples.
For well-known reasons, it is UAVs and rockets that most often appear in the airspace and are the main targets for Russian air defense. Reportedly, "Tor-M2" and other domestic air defense systems are quite capable of fighting such targets and show high efficiency. Radar or optical means successfully detect drones and provide missile guidance. SAMs from the 9K332 complex also demonstrate high efficiency.
With all this, the interception of some targets, mainly small UAVs, is quite difficult. In addition, the enemy and his suppliers monitor our air defense and their losses, and draw the necessary conclusions. Various measures are being taken to protect new and promising UAVs and other products from detection and exposure to anti-aircraft weapons.
All this imposes additional requirements on our air defense systems. It is necessary not only to maintain the effectiveness of combat work, but also to improve all the main characteristics. It is for this purpose that the works recently mentioned by the general director of IEMZ "Kupol" are being carried out. Their result will be another improvement of the Tor-M2 serial air defense system, which is widely used among the troops.
It should be noted that not only complexes of the Tor family are in service with our military air defense. There are other products and systems that must also deal with all current and future threats. Apparently, not only IEMZ "Kupol" is engaged in the development of its developments, taking into account the recently gained experience. Similar work should be done at other enterprises.
In the process of development
At the moment, the military air defense of the Russian army has a number of anti-aircraft systems and complexes of different classes with high performance. An important place in it is occupied by the Tor-M2 air defense system. Such complexes demonstrate high performance and effectively intercept various targets, from drones to missiles.
At the same time, Tor-M2 continues to develop. As a result of the next stage of improvements, its characteristics will increase, and in addition, the complex will be able to deal with completely new threats, incl. while absent from the enemy. It remains only to wait for the completion of work and the appearance of updated air defense systems in the troops.
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